Interactive digital platform device and method

ABSTRACT

A scalable, portable platform for allowing digital interaction between physical objects and digital content in virtual or augmented reality applications is provided. The board comprises a base; an array of near field communication (NFC) antennas positioned at fixed locations within the base; a plurality of light sources, each light source centered within the antenna coil of a corresponding one of the NFC antennas; a plurality of magnets positioned on outer edges of the base such that multiple based can be connected together; and one or more processors configured to wirelessly transmit and receive messages to and from an external device, control the plurality of light sources, and detect and position objects placed on the base in a virtual space.

The present application relates to platforms that provide interactionbetween physical objects and digital content, and specifically to aboard which acts as a conduit to make physical objects, including toysand/or collectables, become digitally interactive.

BACKGROUND

Interaction between physical objects and digital content hashistorically been implemented in systems which allow physical objects,e.g., figurines, toys, action figures, etc., to interact within a gameand are commonly referred to as toy-to-life systems. Existingtoy-to-life systems include a peripheral device, also referred to as aportal, tethered to a gaming system hub that transfers a physical toy,figurine, and/or action figure into a virtual game by identifying thephysical object and in some cases acquiring previous game data storedwithin the physical object.

Since the inception of the Toys to Life market there has been verylittle change in the technology. Currently the technology allows for theunlocking of digital characters within a game by placing an NFC enabledtoy on a portal. The portal reads the details of the toy and presents adigital representation of that toy within a game. The Player then playsthe game forgetting about the toy.

Although the existing portals allow consumers/users to transport theirphysical characters into a virtual world, e.g., a video game, and playwith them, they have several drawbacks. These portals generally onlyallow up to three figures to be identified and/or transported into gameplay at a time. They are proprietary devices, thereby preventing thirdparty games from interacting with the portal. Also, they need to betethered to a specific gaming system to work and thus are not portable.

Therefore, a need exists for an independent device/board which allowsinteraction between physical and digital content which is both scalableand portable.

SUMMARY

This disclosure describes a scalable, portable device/board which actsas a conduit for physical objects becoming digitally interactive in avariety of ways and a method for detecting multiple tags using NFC andtheir spatial relation to one another.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can beembodied in a scalable, portable board for allowing digital interactionbetween physical objects and digital content in virtual or augmentedreality applications. The board comprises a base; an array of near fieldcommunication (NFC) antennas positioned at fixed locations within thebase; a plurality of light sources, each light source centered withinthe antenna coil of a corresponding one of the NFC antennas; a pluralityof magnets positioned on outer edges of the base such that multiplebased can be connected together; and one or more processors configuredto wirelessly transmit and receive messages to and from an externaldevice, control the plurality of light sources, and detect and positionobjects placed on the base in a virtual space.

The above and other embodiments can optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The one or more processors may be furtherconfigured to read and write information from an object placed on thebase. Multiple board can be connected together using magnets to create alarger platform. The connected boards can communicate with each otherusing infrared technology. Alternatively, the boards may communicateusing direct pin connections which allow transmission of both power anddata. This allows multiple interconnected boards to be simultaneouslycharged by connecting a single one of the interconnected boards to apower source. The boards can be connected into different geometricshapes. The board may include a plurality of electromagnets, eachelectromagnet centered within the antenna coil of a corresponding one ofthe NFC antennas. The board may include an eccentric rotating mass (ERM)motor to providing haptic feedback. In some embodiments the plurality oflight sources may include, a center light sources, such as an LED, andthree additional light sources for each NFC antenna, the threeadditional light sources for each antenna being three NeoPixel ringseach having a different diameter. The surrounding light sources can beused to convey additional information about the digital characterscorresponding to the objects on the board.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only,and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims. Like reference numbers and designations in the variousdrawings indicate like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic layout of a scalable board according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates example patterns when multiple board are connectedtogether;

FIGS. 3A & 3B illustrate a block diagram of a scalable board accordingto an embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a scalable board according to anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 provides a schematic layout of a scalable board according to anembodiment. The board includes a base 100; an array of near fieldcommunication (NFC) antennas (120); a plurality of light sources (110),one located near each NFC antenna; a plurality of pogo pins (130); aplurality of electromagnets (140); USB connection (150); and arechargeable battery (160). FIG. 4 provides an exploded view of thevarious layers/elements of the scalable board schematically shown inFIG. 1.

The NFC antenna array (410) is made up of 7 NFC antenna coils positionedat fixed locations to detect objects placed on the base. Although 7 NFCantenna coils are described herein, any number of coils greater than 2may be used. The board also includes one or more processors, not shown,configure to wirelessly transmit and receive messages to and from anexternal device; control the plurality of light sources; and detect andposition objects placed on the base using the NFC antenna array. Theboard shown is FIG. 1 has a hexagonal shape, however any number of boardand/or tile shapes could be used, such a square tiles based on thedesired application.

Using the NFC array, the board may recognize multiple objects, e.g.,toys, figures, and/or collectables, placed on the board at the sametime. The board processors may also read and write information from anobject placed on the board which allows for serialization, storing ofcharacter/Player data or other small bits of information. According toan embodiment, the light source positioned near each NFC antenna is amulti-colored LED positioned in the center of the NFC antenna coil.These LEDs may be used to enhance interaction between a user and thephysical objects. The board may use Bluetooth communication to relayinformation from the board to an external device, such as a mobiledevice, gaming console or other Bluetooth enabled device to allow forthe interactivity of physical objects placed on the board within adigital game or application.

Because the board is platform independent, any number of third partiescan design games and/or applications which interact with the board. Inaddition, by taking advantage of the on board LED lights applicationsmay be designed with or without the use of a screen allowing formultiple uses and/or implementations beyond that of just unlocking andswapping characters within a game and/or application.

The board surface can be scaled by connecting a series of individualboards to create various surface patterns and/or sizes. Individualboards can be connected in a number of different patterns to increasethe area of the playing surface, the number of physical objects that canbe used at any given time, and/or alter the interaction between objects.Each board is outfitted with multiple pogo pins that allow for theboards to communicate to each other and be assembled in any orientation.FIG. 2 illustrates a variety of different sample orientations/patterns(200) in which individual boards may be connected, however,interconnection of multiple boards is not limited to the sampleorientations/patterns shown.

The board wirelessly communicates with external devices using awirelessly transmitter/receiver, for example, a HM-10 Bluetooth chip.The Bluetooth chip is one of the most flexible solutions as aconsiderable amount of devices has the protocol built in and it doesn'trequire any third party hardware such as a router. Alternatively and/orin addition, board to external device communication may be performedusing WiFi and/or USB.

Individual boards can be connected using one or more of a plurality ofconnectors positioned on the edge of the board thus expanding the numberof NFC antennas that can be accessed. As shown in the FIGS. 1 and 4, theplurality of connectors can be magnets provided to predefined positionson the board edge, which magnetically link multiple boards together toform various layouts or geometric shapes. Once an application, forexample, a game, is launched on an external device the connected/linkedboards transmit the layout information to the device using a wirelessprotocol, for example, Bluetooth. Each board will be assigned a colorpattern of LEDs that surround the center antenna of each board. Thispattern becomes the tracking target used for the AR/VR mixed realitycapabilities. For example, as physically objects, e.g., game pieces, areplaced on the boards, the application/game will recognize it's placementon the board and represent that placement in relativity to all the otherpieces placed on the boards. As pieces are moved from one tile (antenna)to another the app is updated to represent the new positions. From herethe game determines the types of interactivity and play pattern for thePlayer.

The boards may be connected to each other using Self Connecting MagneticConnectors allowing for easy assembly/disassembly of multiple boardswhile minimizing breakage. In addition, the connected boards maycommunicate with each other via direct connections using pogo pins. Inalternative embodiments, the board may communicate with each other viainfrared (IR) technology, Bluetooth, and/or direct USB connections.

The board is also Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) capable.This is achieved through an LED target made up of 6 elements surroundingthe center antenna on the board. Each element can be uniquely lit with 1of 3 colors where all the elements make up the target. This targetenables games to be viewed in a mixed reality environment, AR or VR,using a camera, bringing the digital content right to the board itself.By overlaying digital elements over top of the physical objects that areplaced on the board, the player/user can see digitally enhanced elementsthrough a viewing device, such as a mobile phone, tablet, and/orheadset, in either 3D (using a headset such as GearVR, Google Cardboard,HTC Vive, etc.) or in 2D by just holding up the device and lookingthrough the screen as if it were a magic window.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a block diagram of the internal circuitry ofthe board. This internal circuitry includes a plurality of processorsconfigured to perform various functionality. For example the internalcircuitry allows the board to detect multiple tags and their spatialrelationship to one another, and communicate this information to anexternal device, for example, computer, mobile device, server or gameconsole system, resulting in the expansion of the “Toys to Life” market.

One of the advantages of the board is that it is platform independentand thereby open to third party developers, studios, brands, franchisesto license for use with their own properties. This is achieved by an SDKthat assists third party developers in building digital experiences fortheir products that can communicate through the board. These allow eachapplication associated with the platform to be quite different fromanother.

Experiences can range from what is currently in the market now, such asplacing an NFC enabled toy on the board which reveals a digital versionof that character within a game on a device, where the Player then playsa videogame with that character to many boards placed together to form aboard not dissimilar to a chess board. Objects/pieces are then placed onthe board and moved similar to moves in chess; however, the pieces arealso represented digitally with the device. When 2 pieces are incontention for a square, a digitally interactive game could pop up whereby Players have to battle each other for the ownership of the square.The experience may also be a simple repeating pattern game that requiresthe Player to follow a sequence of LEDs and repeat it by touching eachof the lit antennas in the same order with an NFC enable property. Theseare just a few uses for the board.

Another advantage of the board is that the NFC antenna array allows forspatial recognition between each antenna. This means that through anapplication or game the positions of each object placed on the board canbe determined. For example, each antenna may be given an identifier suchits relationship to all the other antenna is known, and/or may be mappedout to define the board configuration when multiple boards areinterconnected. The board also solves the problems associated withsorting and organizing multiple platforms that are joined, in a usefulway that allows for a myriad of board layouts while still maintainingcommunication and usability with other hardware and software and AR/VRcapabilities. Furthermore, in some applications the board layout may bechanged in real time thereby allowing board movement to part of theboard application or game play.

Not only does the board unlock the digital versions of objects, forexample, a character or action figure, but it can determine where theyare positioned relative to other NFC enabled objects placed on theboards. This in combination with the ability to connect togethermultiple boards allows variations of different implementation, such as,tabletop board games, to be created, modified or enhanced with digitalcomponents that can be experienced in mixed reality environments.Experiences can be developed without the need for screen based playwhere all action can be taken on the board itself relying on otherelements on the board such as LED's and potentially electromagnets toproduce unforeseen play patterns.

According to another embodiment, the base may be broken up intoindividual tiles which when connected form NFC arrays of any size andorientation. In this embodiment, each tile functions as its ownindependent portal with the ability to digitize a single object or beconnected physically to other tiles to allow for an almost unlimitedplay space. The connected tile may alternative continue to function asindependent tiles but communicate with other connected tiles wirelessly,for example, using WiFi, for multiplayer experiences over the web.

In an alternative embodiment, the top of the board may be a digitallyinteractive screen, similar to current mobile devices, allowing for agreater level of interactivity between user, object and application. Inthis embodiment the board is effectively a customized tablet that can belinked together creating a screen of any size. This embodiment may alsoallow for touch input, downloading of applications directly to theboard, communication with other users through text and voice, and alevel of flexibility regarding animations and other game relatedfeedback on the board itself.

The board detects a hit when an NFC enabled object comes into contactwith a tile (antenna). Additional methods of hit detection incollaboration with NFC may include: a touch sensitive screen; springloaded buttons; light sensitive switches; and rumble effects.

Another addition to the board that could enhance the experience could bean Eccentric Rotating Mass (ERM) Vibration Motor. During gameplay thiswould add a physical dimension to the board gaming experience addingearthquake like effects that affect your game pieces.

Because the board is platform independent and scalable, games can bedeveloped to allow for multiplayer functionality whereby players indifferent locations each have their own boards but would share in thesame properties as if the players were using the same board.Additionally boards could remain independent of each other doubling thenumber of tiles that can be used in a game.

Although particular embodiments of the subject matter have beendescribed, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can beperformed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Inaddition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do notnecessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, toachieve desirable results.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scalable, portable platform for allowingdigital interaction between physical objects and digital content invirtual or augmented reality applications, the platform comprising: abase; an array of near field communication (NFC) antennas positioned atfixed locations within the base; a plurality of light sources, eachlight source centered within the antenna coil of a corresponding one ofthe NFC antennas; a plurality of connectors positioned on the base suchthat multiple bases can be connected together; and one or moreprocessors configured to wirelessly transmit and receive messages to andfrom an external device; control the plurality of light sources; anddetect and position objects placed on the base in a virtual space. 2.The platform of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to read and write information from a physical object placedon the base.
 3. The platform of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofconnectors are magnets positions on outer edges of the base such thatmultiple bases can be linked to together to form a larger platform. 4.The platform of claim 3, wherein the linked bases communicate with eachother using pogo pins or infrared technology.
 5. The platform of claim3, wherein the linked bases can form different geometric shapes.
 6. Theplatform of claim 1, further comprising a plurality electromagnets, eachelectromagnet centered within the antenna coil of a corresponding one ofthe NFC antennas.
 7. The platform of claim 1, further comprising aneccentric rotating mass (ERM) motor.